Australian Labor Party
Leader	Kevin Rudd
Deputy Leader	Julia Gillard
Party President	Mike Rann
Founded	1891
Office	161 London Circuit Canberra ACT 2600
Political Ideology	Democratic socialism, Social democracy, Third Way
Political Position	Centre-Left
International Affiliation	Socialist International
Website	www.alp.org.au

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957 is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the Centre-left Australian Labor Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961 is the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and deputy leader of the federal Australian Labor Party (ALP Michael David Rann (born 5 January 1953) Australian politician is the 44th Premier of South Australia, serving since 2002. Year 1891 ( MDCCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Canberra ( is the capital city of Australia With a population of over 340000 it is Australia's largest inland City. } The Australian Capital Territory (ACT is the Capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and its smallest self-governing internal territory Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements tendencies and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation Social democracy is a Political ideology of the left and centre-left The Third Way is a term that has been used to describe a variety of political philosophies of governance that embracing a mix of market and interventionist philosophies The centre-left (or center-left) is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals political parties or organizations (such as Think Socialist International is a worldwide organization of socialist ( social democratic and labour) political parties Political parties in Australia lists political parties in Australia.

Known as the ALP for short, the party is the current governing party of Australia. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Kevin Rudd is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia. Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957 is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the Centre-left Australian Labor The Prime Minister of Australia is the Head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General. As of the 2007 federal election, the party is in government nationally, as well as in all eight state and territory legislatures, the first time a single party has achieved this. Federal elections for the Parliament of Australia were held on Saturday 24 November 2007 after a 6-week campaign in which 13 ^[1]

Founded in 1891 by the emerging labour movement in Australia, Labor is the country's oldest federally active political party, having contested seats at the 1901 federal election following the federation of Australia. The Australian labour movement has its origins in the early 19th century and includes both Trade unions and political activity. Background Following the federation of 1856 - New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria 1857 - South Australia The federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South The ALP predates both the British Labour Party and New Zealand Labour Party among others in both party formation and government. The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party The party competes primarily with the Liberal/National coalition for political office, particularly at the federal and state levels. The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party. The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party. The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a pragmatic grouping of Centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922

Policy

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (right) and Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard (left) at their first press conference as Leader and Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party, 4 December 2006

Chris Watson, first leader of then Federal Labour Party 1901–07 (held the balance of power) and Prime Minister of Australia in 1904

Andrew Fisher, Labor Prime Minister of Australia 1908–09, 1910–13, 1914–15

Billy Hughes, Labor Prime Minister of Australia 1915-16

James Scullin, Labor Prime Minister of Australia 1929–32

John Curtin, Labor Prime Minister of Australia 1941–45

Ben Chifley, Labor Prime Minister of Australia 1945–49

Gough Whitlam, Labor Prime Minister of Australia 1972–75

Bob Hawke, Labor Prime Minister of Australia 1983–91

Paul Keating, Labor Prime Minister of Australia 1991–96

The policy of the Australian Labor Party is contained in its National Platform, which is approved by delegates to Labor's National Conference, held every three years. The Prime Minister of Australia is the Head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General. Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957 is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the Centre-left Australian Labor The Deputy Prime Minister of Australia is the second-most senior officer in the Government of Australia. Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961 is the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and deputy leader of the federal Australian Labor Party (ALP John Christian Watson (9 April 1867 – 18 November 1941 commonly known as Chris Watson, Australian politician was the third Prime Minister of Australia In Parliamentary politics the term balance of power sometimes describes the pragmatic mechanism exercised by a minor Political party or other grouping whose guaranteed Andrew Fisher (29 August 1862 – 22 October 1928 was an Australian Politician and the fifth Prime Minister of Australia. William Morris 'Billy' Hughes, CH, KC (25 September 1862 &ndash 28 October 1952 Australian politician was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia James Henry Scullin (18 September 1876 &ndash 28 January 1953 Australian Labor Politician and ninth Prime Minister of Australia. John Joseph Curtin (8 January 1885 &ndash 5 July 1945 Australian politician and 14th Prime Minister of Australia, led Australia when the Australian mainland came under direct Joseph Benedict Chifley (22 September 1885 &ndash 13 June 1951 Australian politician and 16th Prime Minister of Australia, was one of Australia's most influential Prime Ministers Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC (born 11 July 1916 known as Gough Whitlam (ˈɡɒf goff is an Australian former politician and 21st Robert James Lee (Bob Hawke, AC (born 9 December 1929 was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia and longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944 was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, from 1991 to 1996 According to the Labor Party's website, "The Platform is the result of a rigorous and constructive process of consultation, spanning the nation and including the cooperation and input of state and territory policy committees, local branches, unions, state and territory governments, and individual Party members. The Platform provides the policy foundation from which we can continue to work towards the election of a federal Labor Government. "^[2]

The platform gives a general indication of the policy direction which a future Labor government would follow, but does not commit the party to specific policies. It maintains that "Labor's traditional values will remain a constant on which all Australians can rely. " While making it clear that Labor is fully committed to a market economy, it says that: "Labor believes in a strong role for national government — the one institution all Australians truly own and control through our right to vote. " Labor "will not allow the benefits of change to be concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, or located only in privileged communities. The benefits must be shared by all Australians and all our regions. " The Platform and Labor "believe that all people are created equal in their entitlement to dignity and respect, and should have an equal chance to achieve their potential. " For Labor, "government has a critical role in ensuring fairness by: ensuring equal opportunity; removing unjustifiable discrimination; and achieving a more equitable distribution of wealth, income and status. " Further sections of the Platform stress Labor's support for Equality, Human Rights, Labour Rights and Democracy.

In practice, the Platform provides only general policy guidelines to Labor's federal, state and territory parliamentary leaderships. The policy Labor takes into an election campaign is determined by the Cabinet (if the party is in office) or the Shadow Cabinet (if it is in opposition), in consultation with key interest groups within the party, and is contained in the parliamentary Leader's policy speech delivered during the election campaign. When Labor is in office, the policies it implements are determined by the Cabinet, subject to the Platform. Generally, it is accepted that while the Platform binds Labor governments, how and when it is implemented remains the prerogative of the parliamentary caucus. It is now rare for the Platform to conflict with government policy, as the content of the Platform is usually developed in close collaboration with the party's parliamentary leadership as well as the factions. However, where there is a direct contradiction with the Platform, Labor governments have sought to change the Platform as a prerequisite for a change in policy. For example, privatisation legislation under the Hawke government occurred only after holding a special national conference to debate changing the Platform.

Early ideology

The Labor Party is commonly described as a social democratic party, but its constitution stipulates that it is a democratic socialist party. Social democracy is a Political ideology of the left and centre-left Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements tendencies and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation The light on the hill is a phrase used to describe the objective of the Australian Labor Party. The light on the hill is a phrase used to describe the objective of the Australian Labor Party. The phrase was coined in a 1949 conference speech by then Prime Minister Ben Chifley. Joseph Benedict Chifley (22 September 1885 &ndash 13 June 1951 Australian politician and 16th Prime Minister of Australia, was one of Australia's most influential Prime Ministers The party was created by, and has always been influenced to some extent by trade unionists, and its policy at any given time has been the policy of the broader labour movement. Thus at the first federal election 1901 Labor's platform called for a White Australia (a view held by all federal MPs at the time bar Bruce Smith, a Free Trader), a citizen army and compulsory arbitration of industrial disputes. The White Australia policy is a term used to describe a collection of historical policies that intentionally restricted non-white Immigration to Australia from Bruce Arthur Smith KC ( 28 June 1851 - 14 August 1937) was a long serving Australian politician and leading The Free Trade Party (officially Australian Free Trade and Liberal Association) renamed in 1906 as the Anti-Socialist Party, was an Australian political ^[3] Labor has at various times supported high tariffs and low tariffs, conscription and pacifism, White Australia and multiculturalism, nationalisation and privatisation, isolationism and internationalism, as has the conservative side of Australian politics. For other uses of this word see Tariff (disambiguation. A tariff is a tax imposed on goods when they are moved across a political boundary Conscription (also known as the draft, the call-up or national service) is a general term for involuntary labor demanded by some established authority The White Australia policy is a term used to describe a collection of historical policies that intentionally restricted non-white Immigration to Australia from The term multiculturalism generally refers to a state of racial, cultural and ethnic diversity within the Demographics of a specified Nationalization, also spelled nationalisation, is the act of taking an industry or assets into the Public ownership of a national government Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of business from the Public sector (government to the Private sector (business Isolationism is a Foreign policy which combines a non-interventionist military policy and a political policy of Economic nationalism ( Protectionism

In the aftermath of World War I and the Russian Revolution, support for socialism grew in trade union ranks, and at the 1921 All-Australian Trades Union Congress a resolution was passed calling for "the socialisation of industry, production, distribution and exchange. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All See also Russian Revolution (1905 The Russian Revolution of 1916 refers to a series of popular revolutions in Russia, and the events surrounding them " As a result, Labor's Federal Conference in 1922 adopted a similarly worded "socialist objective," which remained official policy for many years. The resolution was immediately qualified, however, by the "Blackburn amendment," which said that "socialisation" was desirable only when was necessary to "eliminate exploitation and other anti-social features. Maurice McCrae Blackburn ( 19 November 1880 - 31 March 1944) Australian politician and lawyer was born in Inglewood Victoria "^[4] In practice the socialist objective was a dead letter. Only once has a federal Labor government attempted to nationalise any industry (Ben Chifley's bank nationalisation of 1947), and that was held by the High Court to be unconstitutional. Joseph Benedict Chifley (22 September 1885 &ndash 13 June 1951 Australian politician and 16th Prime Minister of Australia, was one of Australia's most influential Prime Ministers The High Court of Australia is the final court of appeal in Australia the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy.

Modern Labor

Various ideological beliefs were factionalised under reforms to the ALP under Gough Whitlam, resulting in what is now known as the Socialist Left who tend to favour a more interventionist economic policy and more socially progressive ideals, and Labor Right, the now dominant faction that tends to be more economically liberal and focus to a lesser extent on social issues. Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC (born 11 July 1916 known as Gough Whitlam (ˈɡɒf goff is an Australian former politician and 21st This article is about the Australian party faction for the Norwegian political party see Socialist Left Party (Norway The The Labor Right, or Labor Unity is the organised faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP that tends to be more economically liberal and socially conservative

The Bob Hawke and Paul Keating governments from 1983 to 1996 pursued many economic policies associated with economic rationalism and the "Third Way", such as floating the Australian Dollar in 1983, reductions in trade tariffs, taxation reforms, changing from centralised wage-fixing to enterprise bargaining, the privatisation of Qantas and Commonwealth Bank, and deregulating the banking system. Robert James Lee (Bob Hawke, AC (born 9 December 1929 was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia and longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944 was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, from 1991 to 1996 Economic rationalism is an Australian term in discussion of Microeconomic policy applicable to the economic policy of many governments around the world in particular during The Third Way is a term that has been used to describe a variety of political philosophies of governance that embracing a mix of market and interventionist philosophies A floating currency is a Currency that uses a Floating exchange rate as its Exchange rate regime. The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the Currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas For other uses of this word see Tariff (disambiguation. A tariff is a tax imposed on goods when they are moved across a political boundary An Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA consists of a collective industrial Agreement between either an Employer and a Trade union Qantas Airways Limited (ˈkwɔntəs ( is the National airline of Australia. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia ( is the largest bank in Australia. Keating also proposed a GST in 1985, however due to its unpopularity amongst Labor as well as the electorate, was scrapped. The GST (Goods and Services Tax is a Value added tax of 10% on most goods and services transactions in Australia. The party also refrained from other reforms, such as wholesale labour market deregulation (eg WorkChoices), the eventual GST, the privatisation of Telstra and welfare reform including "work for the dole", which John Howard and the Liberal Party of Australia were to initiate after winning office in 1996. The Workplace Relations Act 1996 as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, or WorkChoices, which came into effect in March 2006, was the most The GST (Goods and Services Tax is a Value added tax of 10% on most goods and services transactions in Australia. Telstra or Telstra Corporation (often abbreviated as Telstra Corp) () is an Australian Telecommunications and media company formerly Welfare reform is a movement for policy change in countries with a state-administered social welfare systems Work for the Dole is an Australian federal government program that is a form of Workfare, work-based welfare See also Howard Government John Winston Howard AC (born 26 July 1939 was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia from 11 March The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.

It is also said by a former Tony Blair staffer that UK Labour and Blair learnt from the Hawke government in the 1980s on how to govern when they took power in the UK. Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair (born 6 May 1953 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the ^[5]

The Whitlam government was first to use the term economic rationalism. Economic rationalism is an Australian term in discussion of Microeconomic policy applicable to the economic policy of many governments around the world in particular during ^[6] The Gough Whitlam Labor government from 1972 to 1975 changed from a democratic socialist platform to a social democratic one, a precursor to the party's current third way policies. Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC (born 11 July 1916 known as Gough Whitlam (ˈɡɒf goff is an Australian former politician and 21st Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements tendencies and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation Social democracy is a Political ideology of the left and centre-left The Third Way is a term that has been used to describe a variety of political philosophies of governance that embracing a mix of market and interventionist philosophies Under the Whitlam government, tariffs across the board were cut by 25 percent after 23 years of Labor being in opposition. For other uses of this word see Tariff (disambiguation. A tariff is a tax imposed on goods when they are moved across a political boundary ^[7]

Current Labor leader Kevin Rudd's first speech to parliament in 1998 stated:

Competitive markets are massive and generally efficient generators of economic wealth. Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957 is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the Centre-left Australian Labor They must therefore have a central place in the management of the economy. But markets sometimes fail, requiring direct government intervention through instruments such as industry policy. There are also areas where the public good dictates that there should be no market at all.

We are not afraid of a vision in the Labor Party, but nor are we afraid of doing the hard policy yards necessary to turn that vision into reality. Parties of the Centre Left around the world are wrestling with a similar challenge—the creation of a competitive economy while advancing the overriding imperative of a just society. Some call this the `third way'. The nomenclature is unimportant. What is important is that it is a repudiation of Thatcherism and its Australian derivatives represented opposite. It is in fact a new formulation of the nation's economic and social imperatives. ^[8]

Rudd is critical of free market economists such as Friedrich Hayek,^[9][10] although Rudd describes himself as "basically a conservative when it comes to questions of public financial management", pointing to his slashing of public service jobs as a Queensland governmental advisor. Friedrich August von Hayek CH ( May 8, 1899 March 23, 1992) was an Austrian British Economist ^[11][12]

Since 2004 Labor has laid particular stress on resisting Howard's liberalisation of the labour market through industrial relations legislation known as WorkChoices after the first Senate majority since the 1977 election was gained. The Workplace Relations Act 1996 as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, or WorkChoices, which came into effect in March 2006, was the most Background and Issues The election is remembered for the "fistful of dollars" advertisements run by the government offering tax cuts to voters Labor leaders Kim Beazley and Kevin Rudd have campaigned very strongly on the issue. For Kim Beazley's father Kim Beazley senior, see Kim Edward Beazley. Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957 is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the Centre-left Australian Labor Rudd announced in April 2007 that a Labor government would return to collective bargaining but retain many of the restrictions on industrial activism introduced by the Howard Coalition Government such as secret ballots of workers and a ban on strikes except during collective bargaining negotiations. The Fourth Howard Ministry ( Liberal Party of Australia &ndash National Party of Australia coalition was the 64th Australian ministry. ^[13]

History

Party mythology says the first Labor branch was founded at a meeting of striking pastoral workers under a ghost gum tree (the "Tree of Knowledge") in Barcaldine, Queensland in 1891. The Tree of Knowledge was a tree in Barcaldine, Queensland, Australia, the understory of which was regarded as the birthplace of the Australian Labor Barcaldine is a small town and Local Government Area located in Western Queensland, Australia, approximately 520 kilometres by road west of the city The Balmain, New South Wales branch of the party also claims to be the oldest in Australia. Balmain is a Suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in The party as a serious electoral force dates from 1891 in New South Wales, 1893 in Queensland and South Australia, and later in the other colonies. Hartley, NSW was the first parliamentary seat to be won by Labour (as Labor was spelt at the time - see Etymology) the candidate being Joseph Cook. Hartley was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, originally created in 1859 in the For the actor Joe Cook see Joe Cook (actor. Sir Joseph Cook, GCMG (7 December 1860 &ndash 30 July 1947 was an Australian In New South Wales in 1891, the first election contested by Labour candidates, 35 of 141 seats were won by Labour candidates. ^[14] In 1899, Anderson Dawson formed a minority Labour government in Queensland, the first in the world, which lasted one week. Andrew Dawson (16 July 1863 – 20 July 1910 usually known as Anderson Dawson, was an Australian politician the Premier of Queensland for one week (1-7 Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent

Sections of state Labour and the Australian labour movement were mixed in their support for the Federation of Australia. The Australian labour movement has its origins in the early 19th century and includes both Trade unions and political activity. The federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Some labour representatives argued against the proposed constitution, claiming the Senate as proposed was much too powerful, similar to the anti-reformist Colonial upper houses and the British House of Lords. The House of Lords is the second house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords" They feared federation would distract attention from the need of social and industrial reform, and further entrench the power of the conservative forces. Reform Movement redirects here For specific organizations by that name see Reform Movement (disambiguation A reform movement is a kind The field of industrial relations (also called labor relations) looks at the relationship between Management and workers particularly groups of workers represented Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined The first Labour leader and Prime Minister, Chris Watson, was a supporter of federation but not its implementation. John Christian Watson (9 April 1867 – 18 November 1941 commonly known as Chris Watson, Australian politician was the third Prime Minister of Australia

After Federation, the Federal Parliamentary Labour Party (informally known as the Caucus) first met on 8 May 1901 at Parliament House, Melbourne, the meeting place of the first Federal Parliament. The federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Parliament House in Melbourne has been the seat of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia, since 1855 except for the years 1901 to 1927 when it was occupied ^[15] This is now taken as the founding date of the federal Labor Party, but it was some years before there was any significant structure or organisation at a national level.

The ALP during its early years was distinguished by its rapid growth and success at a national level, first forming a minority national government under Chris Watson in April 1904, and forming its first majority government under Andrew Fisher in 1910. John Christian Watson (9 April 1867 – 18 November 1941 commonly known as Chris Watson, Australian politician was the third Prime Minister of Australia Andrew Fisher (29 August 1862 – 22 October 1928 was an Australian Politician and the fifth Prime Minister of Australia. ^[16] Watson was the first Labour/Labor Prime Minister in the world, while Fisher was the leader of the first Labour/Labor Party majority government in the world. The state branches were also successful, except in Victoria, where the strength of Deakinite liberalism inhibited the party's growth. Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919 Australian politician was a leader of the movement for Australian federation and later second Prime Minister Liberalism is a broad array of related ideas and theories of Government that consider individual Liberty to be the most important political goal The first majority Labor state governments were formed in New South Wales and South Australia in 1910, in Western Australia in 1911 and in Queensland in 1915. South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent Such success eluded equivalent social democratic and labour parties in other countries for many years. One of the party's early innovations was the establishment of a federal arbitration system for the resolution of industrial disputes, which formed the basis of the industrial relations system for many decades. Arbitration, a form of Alternative dispute resolution (ADR is a legal technique for the resolution of Disputes outside the Courts wherein the

Through its membership of the Socialist International, the ALP is affiliated with democratic socialist, social democratic and labour parties in many countries. Socialist International is a worldwide organization of socialist ( social democratic and labour) political parties The party was historically committed to socialist economic policies, but this term was never clearly defined, and no Labor government ever attempted to implement "socialism" in any serious sense. Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Labor supported national wage fixing and a strong welfare system, it did not nationalise private enterprise. Nationalization, also spelled nationalisation, is the act of taking an industry or assets into the Public ownership of a national government The single exception to this was Ben Chifley's attempt to nationalise the private banks in the 1940s, but this was ruled unconstitutional by the High Court of Australia. Joseph Benedict Chifley (22 September 1885 &ndash 13 June 1951 Australian politician and 16th Prime Minister of Australia, was one of Australia's most influential Prime Ministers The High Court of Australia is the final court of appeal in Australia the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy. ^[17] The commitment to nationalisation was dropped by Gough Whitlam. Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC (born 11 July 1916 known as Gough Whitlam (ˈɡɒf goff is an Australian former politician and 21st

From its formation until the 1950s Labor and its affiliated unions were the strongest defenders of the White Australia Policy, which banned all non-European migration to Australia. The White Australia policy is a term used to describe a collection of historical policies that intentionally restricted non-white Immigration to Australia from This policy was partly motivated by 19th century theories about "racial purity" (shared by most Australians at this time), and partly by fears of economic competition from low-wage labour. In practice the party opposed all migration, on the grounds that immigrants competed with Australian workers and drove down wages, until after World War II, when the Chifley government launched a major immigration program. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Joseph Benedict Chifley (22 September 1885 &ndash 13 June 1951 Australian politician and 16th Prime Minister of Australia, was one of Australia's most influential Prime Ministers The party's opposition to non-European immigration did not change until after the retirement of Arthur Calwell as leader in 1967. Arthur Augustus Calwell (28 August 1896 - 8 July 1973 Australian politician was Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1960 to 1967 Subsequently Labor has become an advocate of multiculturalism, although some of its trade union base and some of its members continue to oppose high immigration levels. The term multiculturalism generally refers to a state of racial, cultural and ethnic diversity within the Demographics of a specified

Etymology

The ALP adopted the formal name Australian Labour Party in 1908, but changed to the American spelling of Labor from 1912. While it is standard practice in Australian English to spell the word labour with a u, the Party has spelt it without one since Labor cabinet minister King O'Malley thought he would "modernise" the name at the time, due to the apparent influence of the American labor movement. Australian English ( AuE, AusE, en-AU) is the form of the English language used in Australia. King O'Malley (July 1858 – 20 December 1953) was an Australian politician ^[18] The respelling of "labour" also made it easy to distinguish references to the party from the industrial labour movement in general, and so the use of "labor" in ALP has remained because of this. ^[19]

Labor splits

The Labor Party has suffered three major splits:

• In 1915 over the issue of conscription during the First World War. Conscription (also known as the draft, the call-up or national service) is a general term for involuntary labor demanded by some established authority World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Labor Prime Minister Billy Hughes supported the introduction of conscription, while the majority of his colleagues in the ALP and trade union movement opposed it. William Morris 'Billy' Hughes, CH, KC (25 September 1862 &ndash 28 October 1952 Australian politician was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia Conscription (also known as the draft, the call-up or national service) is a general term for involuntary labor demanded by some established authority After failing to gain majority support for conscription in two national plebiscites which bitterly divided the country in the process, Hughes and his followers were expelled from the Labor Party. A referendum (plural referendums or referenda) ballot question, or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita He formed the Nationalist Party of Australia in alliance with the conservatives and remained Prime Minister until 1923. Stanleybrucejpg|right|150px|thumb| Stanley Bruce, Nationalist Prime Minister of Australia 1923-1929]] The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political

• In 1931 over economic issues revolving around how best to handle the Great Depression. The ALP was essentially split three ways, between those who believed in radical policies such as NSW Premier Jack Lang, who wanted to repudiate Australia's debt to British bondholders; proto-Keynesians such as federal Treasurer Ted Theodore; and believers in orthodox finance such as Prime Minister James Scullin and a senior minister in his government, Joseph Lyons. John Thomas Lang ( 21 December 1876 - 27 September 1975) Australian politician usually referred to as J In Economics Keynesian economics (ˈkeɪnziən also Keynesianism and Keynesian Theory) is based on the ideas of twentieth-century British economist Edward Granville Theodore ( 29 December, 1884 &ndash 9 February, 1950,) Australian politician was born in Adelaide, James Henry Scullin (18 September 1876 &ndash 28 January 1953 Australian Labor Politician and ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH (15 September 1879 &ndash 7 April 1939 Australian politician In 1931 Lyons left the party and joined the conservatives, forming the United Australia Party as successors to the Nationalists and becoming Prime Minister in 1932. Robert Menzies 1930sjpg|right|150px|thumb| Robert Menzies, UAP Prime Minister of Australia 1939-1941]]The United Australia Party or UAP was an Australian

• The 1954 split on communism. Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based During the 1950s the issue of communism and support for communist causes or governments caused great internal conflict in the Labor party and the trade union movement in general. During the 1950s, staunchly anti-Communist Roman Catholic members (Catholics being an important traditional support base) became suspicious of communist infiltration of unions and formed Industrial Groups to gain control of them, fostering intense internal conflict. Anti-communism refers to opposition to Communism. Historically the word "communism" has been used to refer to several types of communal social organization and The Industrial Groups were groups formed by the Australian Labor Party in the late 1940s to combat Communist Party influence in the trade unions After Labor's loss of the 1954 election, federal leader Dr H.V. Evatt blamed subversive activities of the "Groupers" for the defeat. Herbert Vere Evatt, QC MP ( April 30, 1894 - November 2, 1965) was an Australian Jurist, politician After bitter public dispute many Groupers were expelled from the ALP and formed the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) whose intellectual leader was B.A. Santamaria. The Democratic Labor Party (abbreviated as the DLP was an Australian Political party that existed from 1955 until 1978 Bartholomew Augustine "B A" Santamaria, otherwise 'Bob' ( 14 August 1915 - 25 February 1998) Australian political The DLP was heavily influenced by Catholic social teaching and had the support of the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Daniel Mannix. Catholic social teaching encompasses aspects of Catholic doctrine relating to matters dealing with the collective welfare of humanity Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 For other people called Daniel Mannix see Daniel Mannix (disambiguation Daniel Patrick Mannix ( March 4 1864 - November 2 The DLP's preferences (see Australian electoral system) helped the Liberal Party of Australia remain in power for over two decades but it was successfully undermined by the Whitlam Labor Government during the 1970s and ceased to exist as a federal parliamentary party after the 1974 election. This article deals with elections to the Australian Parliament. The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party. Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC (born 11 July 1916 known as Gough Whitlam (ˈɡɒf goff is an Australian former politician and 21st

The Labor Party served as a development ground for several conservative leaders. Conservative Prime Ministers Joseph Cook, Billy Hughes and Joseph Lyons were all ex-members of the Labor Party, with both Hughes and Lyons holding very senior positions in the party (Prime Minister and Premier respectively). For the actor Joe Cook see Joe Cook (actor. Sir Joseph Cook, GCMG (7 December 1860 &ndash 30 July 1947 was an Australian William Morris 'Billy' Hughes, CH, KC (25 September 1862 &ndash 28 October 1952 Australian politician was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH (15 September 1879 &ndash 7 April 1939 Australian politician Non-Labor premiers such as William Holman also began their careers in the Labor Party. William Arthur Holman ( 4 August 1871 – 6 June 1934) was an Australian Labor Party Premier of New South Wales, Australia Current Liberal Party leader Brendan Nelson was also a former member of the Labor Party. Brendan John Nelson, MP (born 19 August 1958 is an Australian politician and former Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Australia, as leader

Structure

The Australian Labor Party is a democratic and federal party, which consists of both individual members and affiliated trade unions, who between them decide the party's policies, elect its governing bodies and choose its candidates for public office. The majority of trade unions in Australia are affiliated to the party, and their affiliation fees, based on the size of their memberships, makes up a large part of the party's income. The party consists of six state and two territory branches, each of which consists of local branches which any Australian resident can join, plus affiliated trade unions. Individual members pay a membership fee, which is graduated according to income. Members are generally expected to attend at least one meeting of their local branch each year, although there are differences in the rules from state to state. In practice only a dedicated minority regularly attend meetings. Many members only become active during election campaigns. The party has about 50,000 individual members, although this figure tends to fluctuate along with the party's electoral fortunes.

The members and unions elect delegates to state and territory conferences (usually held annually, although more frequent conferences are often held). These conferences decide policy, and elect state or territory executives, a state or territory president (an honorary position usually held for a one-year term), and a state or territory secretary (a full-time professional position). The larger branches also have full-time assistant secretaries and organisers. In the past the ratio of conference delegates coming from the branches and affiliated unions has varied from state to state, however under recent national reforms at least 50% of delegates at all state and territory conferences must be elected by branches.

The party holds a National Conference every three years, which consists of delegates representing the state and territory branches (many coming from affiliated trade unions, although there is no formal requirement for unions to be represented at the National Conference). The National Conference approves the party's Platform and policies, elects the National Executive, and appoints office-bearers such as the National Secretary, who also serves as national campaign director during elections. The National Executive is the highest elected body of the Australian Labor Party, one of the major political parties in Australia. The current National Secretary is Tim Gartrell. Tim Gartrell is the current National Secretary of the Australian Labor Party. The most recent National Conference was held in April 2007.

The national Leader of the Labor Party is elected by the Labor members of the national Parliament (the Caucus), not by the conference. Until recently the national conference elected the party's National President, a largely honorary position, but since 2003 the position has rotated among people directly elected by the party's individual members. The current National President is Premier of South Australia, Mike Rann, who assumed the post in February 2008. See Premiers of the Australian states for a description and history of the office of Premier Michael David Rann (born 5 January 1953) Australian politician is the 44th Premier of South Australia, serving since 2002.

The Labor Party contests national, state and territory elections. In some states it also contests local government elections: in others it does not, preferring to allow its members to run as non-endorsed candidates. The process of choosing candidates is called pre-selection. Candidates are pre-selected by different methods in the various states and territories. In some they are chosen by ballots of all party members, in others by panels or committees elected by the state conference, in still others by a combination of these two. Labor candidates are required to sign a pledge that if elected they will always vote in Parliament in accordance with the Platform and decisions made by a vote of the Caucus. They are also sometimes required to donate a portion of their salary to the party, although this practice has declined with the introduction of public funding for political parties.

The Labor Party has always had a left wing and a right wing, but since the 1970s it has been organised into formal factions, to which many party members belong and often pay an additional membership fee. The two largest factions are Labor Unity (on the right) and the Socialist Left. The Labor Right, or Labor Unity is the organised faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP that tends to be more economically liberal and socially conservative This article is about the Australian party faction for the Norwegian political party see Socialist Left Party (Norway The Labor Unity generally supports free-market policies and the US Alliance and tends to be conservative on some social issues. The National Left, although it seldom openly espouses socialism, favours more state intervention in the economy, is generally less enthusiastic about the U. Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution S. Alliance and is often more progressive on social issues. The factions are themselves divided into sub-factions, and there is a constantly changing pattern of factional and sub-factional alliances around particular policy issues or around particular pre-selection disputes. Frequently these alliances and disputes reflect power struggles between or within trade unions.

The trade unions are also factionally aligned. The largest unions supporting the right are the Australian Workers Union (AWU), the National Union of Workers (NUW) and the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA). Template talkInfobox Union for usage --> The Australian Workers' Union (AWU is one of Australia 's largest The National Union of Workers (NUW is a large Australian Trade union. Template talkInfobox Union for usage --> The Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA is the largest Important unions supporting the left include the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union (LHMU), the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), the Australian Services Union (ASU) and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA). Template talkInfobox Union for usage --> The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, or more fully the Automotive The Australian Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union (LHMU (the "Missos" is one of Australia's largest unions, with around 130000 members The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU is Australia's main Trade union in Construction, Forestry and furnishing products Template talkInfobox Union for usage --> The Australian Municipal Administrative Clerical and Services Union, which The Maritime Union of Australia covers waterside workers, Seamen, port workers professional divers and office workers associated with Australian ports But these affiliations are seldom unconditional or permanent. The AWU and the NUW, for example, are bitter rivals and the NUW sometimes aligns itself with the left to further its conflict with the AWU. Moreover, in some cases different branches may have different factional alignment. On some issues, such as opposition to the Howard government's industrial relations policy, all the unions are in agreement and work as a bloc within the party.

Pre-selections are usually conducted along factional lines, although sometimes a non-factional candidate will be given preferential treatment (this happened with Cheryl Kernot in 1998 and again with Peter Garrett in 2004). Cheryl Kernot (born 5 December 1948) is a former Australian politician Peter Robert Garrett AM MP (born 16 April 1953) is an Australian Musician and Politician. Deals between the factions to divide up the safe seats between them are also common. Pre-selections, particularly for safe Labor seats, are often bitterly contested, and have often involved practices such as branch stacking (signing up large numbers of nominal party members to vote in pre-selection ballots), personation, multiple voting and, on occasions, fraudulent electoral enrolment. In Australian politics, branch stacking is the act of enrolling persons to a party by offering inducement or enrolling persons for the principal purpose of influencing the outcome Personation (rather than ''im''personation) is a term used in Politics for the specific kind of Voter fraud where an individual votes in an Election Trade unions were in the past accused of giving inflated membership figures to increase their influence over pre-selections, but party rules changes have stamped out this practice. Pre-selection results are frequently challenged, and the National Executive is sometimes called on to arbitrate these disputes. The National Executive is the highest elected body of the Australian Labor Party, one of the major political parties in Australia.

ALP Federal Parliamentary Leaders

• Kevin Rudd 2006–current (Prime Minister 2007–current)
• Kim Beazley 2005–06
• Mark Latham 2003–05
• Simon Crean 2001–03
• Kim Beazley 1996–2001
• Paul Keating 1991–96 (Prime Minister 1991–96)
• Bob Hawke 1983–91 (Prime Minister 1983–91)
• Bill Hayden 1977–83
• Gough Whitlam 1967–77 (Prime Minister 1972–75)
• Arthur Calwell 1960–67
• Herbert Evatt 1951–60
• Ben Chifley 1945–51 (Prime Minister 1945–49)
• Frank Forde 1945 (caretaker Prime Minister 1945)
• John Curtin 1935–45 (Prime Minister 1941–45)
• James Scullin 1928–35 (Prime Minister 1929–32)
• Matthew Charlton 1922–28
• Frank Tudor 1916–22
• Billy Hughes 1915–16 (Prime Minister 1915–23, expelled from Labor Party 1916 and formed the NLP)
• Andrew Fisher 1907–15 (Prime Minister 1908–09, 1910–13, 1914–15)
• Chris Watson 1901–07 (Prime Minister 1904)

See also: List of ALP federal leaders by time served

ALP State and Territory Parliamentary Leaders

Current

• Jon Stanhope (Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory since 5 November 2001)
• Mike Rann (Premier of South Australia since 6 March 2002)
• Morris Iemma (Premier of New South Wales since 3 August 2005)
• Alan Carpenter (Premier of Western Australia since 25 January 2006)
• John Brumby (Premier of Victoria since 30 July 2007)
• Anna Bligh (Premier of Queensland since 13 September 2007)
• Paul Henderson (Chief Minister of the Northern Territory since 26 November 2007)
• David Bartlett (Premier of Tasmania since 26 May 2008)

Past Premiers and Chief Ministers

Northern Territory

• Clare Martin (2001–2007, first Labor Chief Minister of the Northern Territory)

Australian Capital Territory

• Rosemary Follett (1989, 1991–95, inaugural Chief Minister of the ACT, and first female head of government of an Australian state or territory)

New South Wales

• Bob Carr (1995–2005)
• Barrie Unsworth (1986–88)
• Neville Wran (1976–86)
• Jack Renshaw (1964–65)
• Robert Heffron (1959–64)
• Joseph Cahill (1952–59)
• James McGirr (1947–52)
• William McKell (1941–47)
• Jack Lang (1925–27, 1930–32)
• James Dooley (1921, 1921–22)
• John Storey (1920–21)
• William Holman (1913–16)
• James McGowen (1910–13)

Queensland

• Peter Beattie (1998–2007)
• Wayne Goss (1989–96)
• Vince Gair (1952–57)
• Ned Hanlon (1946–52)
• Frank Cooper (1942–46)
• William Forgan Smith (1932–42)
• William McCormack (1925–29)
• William Gillies (1925)
• Ted Theodore (1919–25)
• T. J. Ryan (1915–19)
• Anderson Dawson (1899, world's first leader of a parliamentary socialist government)

South Australia

• Lynn Arnold (1992–93)
• John Bannon (1982–92)
• Des Corcoran (1979)
• Don Dunstan (1967–68, 1970–79)
• Frank Walsh (1965–67)
• Robert Richards (1933)
• Lionel Hill (1926–27, 1930–33)
• John Gunn (1924–26)
• Crawford Vaughan (1915–17)
• John Verran (1910–12)
• Thomas Price (1905–09)

Tasmania

• Paul Lennon (2004–08)
• Jim Bacon (1998–2004)
• Michael Field (1989–92)
• Harry Holgate (1981–82)
• Doug Lowe (1977–81)
• Bill Neilson (1975–77)
• Eric Reece (1958–69, 1972–75)
• Edward Brooker (1947–48)
• Robert Cosgrove (1939–47, 1948–58)
• Edmund Dwyer-Gray (1939)
• Albert Ogilvie (1934–39)
• Joseph Lyons (1923–28)
• John Earle (1909, 1914–16)

Victoria

• Steve Bracks (1999–2007)
• Joan Kirner (1990–92, first female premier of Victoria)
• John Cain II (1982–90)
• John Cain (senior) (1943, 1945–47, 1952–55)
• Edmond Hogan (1927–28, 1929–32)
• George Prendergast (1924)
• George Elmslie (1913)

Western Australia

• Geoff Gallop (2001–06)
• Carmen Lawrence (1990–93, first female premier of an Australian state)
• Peter Dowding (1988–90)
• Brian Burke (1983–88)
• John Tonkin (1971–74)
• Albert Hawke (1953–59)
• Frank Wise (1945–47)
• John Willcock (1936–45)
• Philip Collier (1924–30, 1933–36)
• John Scaddan (1911–16)
• Henry Daglish (1904–05)

Other past Labor politicians

See Category:Australian Labor Party politicians

For current ALP federal politicians, see:

• List of members of the Australian House of Representatives
• List of members of the Australian Senate

See also

• First Rudd Ministry
• Australian Labor Party National Executive
• Australian Young Labor
• Politics of Australia
• List of political parties in Australia

References

References

• McKinlay, Brian (1981). The ALP: A Short History of the Australian Labor Party. Melbourne: Drummond/Heinemann. ISBN 0858592541.  
• Faulkner, John; Macintyre, Stuart (2001). True Believers - The story of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1865086096.  

External links

• Australian Labor Party website